Chapter 21

I spent the next two weeks at the estate. I spent a lot of time in bed and the rest of the time either in the library or wandering along the beach. 

One day I went to the spot where I’d first met Olivier when he’d been playing gardener, but the plants in question had been moved elsewhere. It was just as well. I didn’t need any more reminders that he existed.

“He sounds like a bloody idiot,” Liam had said to me multiple times now. “Not worth your time. He can go rot.”

Mari, Liam’s wife, had taken a more measured approach. “It sounds like he cares for you, and he was clearly in shock. Plus, if what your dad said is true…” She’d given Liam That Look, and he’d just grunted.

Liam hadn’t been overly thrilled with the news of our sharing DNA with the Salasian royal family. He’d at first said that Da had just been spinning tales to mess with everyone. But when I did some more research here at the estate, I discovered that Da hadn’t been pulling our legs at all. 

Da was the cousi